Pac-12 Power Rankings: Texas vs. USC was the rematch we needed

Despite being 17-point underdogs, the Texas Longhorns (1-2) gave gave No. 4 USC (3-0) all it could handle double overtime thriller at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday.

The Trojans had several chances to put the game out of reach, but Texas’ defense stuffed them on three fourth downs and returned an interception to the house to get the Longhorns tie the game up at seven. Texas cornerback DeShon Elliott was in the rice place at the right time as the ball bounced off of a USC wideouts hands to pick off the pass, and then turning up field for the 38-yard return. It was the Longhorn’s only touchdown until the fourth quarter when true freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger led his offense on a 14-play, 91-yard drive to give Texas late 17-14 lead.

Unfortunately for Texas, the defense was gassed at the end of the game and couldn’t stop Sam Darnold, or the Trojans’ offense, and they were able to march down the field on nine plays to tie the game at 17 as time expired.

In the second overtime, Ehlinger would lose the ball on a quarterback sneak…and the Trojans would run three plays before kicking the game winning field goal. It was an epic game that was a worthy rematch for the 2006 Rose Bowl, in its own unique way.

1) Washington Huskies (–): Ho hum, another blowout victory over an overmatched non-conference foe. Up next for No. 6 Washington is its first real test of the season at Colorado.

2) USC Trojans (–): USC beat Texas, which would be impressive if the Longhorns hadn’t lost to Maryland during the first week of the season. But that was one hell of a game on Saturday.

3) Washington State Cougars (–):Beating the worst team in the Pac-12 by 29-points is sweet; but what makes the rout over Oregon State even sweeter is the fact that Luke Falk looked more like Luke Falk while throwing for 396 yards and six touchdowns.

4) Colorado Buffaloes (–): Colorado’s offense was clicking in a 41-21 beatdown of Northern Colorado, but the defense surrendered three touchdown passes to a traditional run first team. The Buffs new defense will get its first big test next week with No. 6 Washington coming to town.

5) Utah Utes (+1): San Jose State was no match for Utah as the Utes rolled up 501-yards of offense in a 54-16 route. Quarterback Tyler Huntley continues to impress as he threw four touchdown passes and picked up 341 yards through the air during the victory.

6) Oregon Ducks (+1): The Ducks are flying high after a 49-13 victory over Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. on Saturday. Running back Royce Freeman terrorized the Pokes defense on 30 carries for 157 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon’s defense was stout against quarterback Josh Allen — Allen only completed nine passes for 64 yards — but it’ll be interesting to see what they are able to do against Pac-12 offenses.

7) Stanford Cardinal (-2): The power literally went out during San Diego State’s game winning touchdown drive, and the Cardinal’s defense was unable to stop them. It was a frustrating loss that saw quarterback Keller Chryst look hapless — he only completed nine passes for 72 yards — while running back Bryce Love was dominant (184 yards on 13 carries). It could be a long season in Palo Alto.

8) California Golden Bears (+1): Cal’s defense allowed zero points in the second half as the Golden Bears beat Ole Miss 27-16 in Berkeley, Calif. Quarterback Ross Bowers was inconsistent as he threw two interceptions and only completed 51% of his passes for 236 yards, but the defense looked stout against an aggressive spread offense that’s known for putting up points on the board.

9) UCLA Bruins (-1): Memphis is a good football team, but the Bruins defense still gave up 48-points and 560 yards to the Tigers offense. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen’s first interception of the game was huge because Memphis returned it to the house for a touchdown.

10) Arizona Wildcats (–): The Wildcats steamrolled UTEP in El Paso, Texas in their second win of the the season. It was an aggressive offense performance that saw Arizona roll up 365 yards on the ground in dominating fashion.

11) Arizona State Sun Devils: (–): Arizona State’s defense looked atrocious in its 45-52 loss to Texas Tech. Todd Graham’s defense gave up 615 total yards and looked absolutely lost when it came to defending the passing concepts and routes that the red Raiders were running against them.

12) Oregon State Beavers (–): Not only did the Beavers get beat badly in Pullman, they likely lost starting quarterback Jake Luton for the season as he was knocked out of the game midway through the fourth quarter.